If you’re anything like me, you rarely make mistakes. Am I right? Can I get an Amen?
Oh, how I wish this were true. Most of us make mistakes. all. the. time.
Three years ago, I threw my leg over a Mountain Bike for the very first time. In the process of learning how to go fast I made a plethora of mistakes - some of them pret-ty painful.
(yes, this is me)
One of my favorite movie quotes is from the movie Rocky Balboa - the one released in 2006. Click here to watch the clip (WARNING: There will be goosebumps).
Balboa's lesson is two parts? The 1st part is that Life is hard - it's full of mistakes and setbacks. Here are a few of mine:
Invest waaayyy too much money in a marketing program that failed to work. You bet. Snap at my kids for something trivial. Yep. Say something hurtful to my wife. Guilty. Fail to phone a friend back. Uh huh. Forget to pray or express gratitude. More times than I can count. Choose a deliciously crafted pizza over a healthy salad. Wait...is this a mistake...Yeah...I guess so.
Building a Company: Hard
Succeeding in your Career: Hard
Maintaining Friendships: Hard
Marriage: Hard
Parenting: Hard
Racing Mountain Bikes: Hard
Being intentional about Faith: Hard
Eating Healthy: Hard
Hard? Yes. Full of Mistakes? No Question.
Worthwhile? Damn right!
Someone once told me "EVERYTHING WORTHWHILE IN LIFE IS HARD." By consequence, the worthwhile things are fraught with struggle, pain, and mistakes.
The 2nd (and most important) part of Professor Balboa's lesson is that WE get to choose how to respond to our mistakes. And, WHAT we choose makes all. the. difference.
In the last three years, I’ve become a pretty decent Mountain Bike rider/racer. I’ve raced some pretty epic multi-day races and finished well in the standings. After each and every crash I had a choice to make. Give up, Get Mad, Dig In, or go to the hospital (kidding - sort of). I became a better bike rider because I made the intentional decision to pick myself up, dust myself off, learn from the mistake, and keep moving forward. Will there be future crashes? Undoubtedly. Will I give up? I don't plan on it.
YOUR TURN
Yes, I can learn from my mistakes...but I can also learn from YOUR mistakes. I'd love to hear about a mistake that you've made, how you responded to it, and what you learned or achieved as a result. I'm giddy with excitement to hear from you. Let's learn together. Hit reply and share a story with me.
WHAT DID WE SCREW UP?
At ROAD iD, our stated goal is to deliver a product, service, and journey so blindingly awesome that you, can't help but share it. This said, I know that we don't get it right 100% of the time. If we screwed something up, we want to hear about it. Seriously. It's how we get better. Hit reply and let us know.
Keep Moving Forward,
Edward Wimmer IV
Co-Founder, ROAD iD
roadid.com
